


The Future is Now

by fallenstarsandfiredemons



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Family, Fantasy, Magic, Other, Romance, Time Travel, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-16
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-02 12:39:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6566521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fallenstarsandfiredemons/pseuds/fallenstarsandfiredemons
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>*Set between 4a and 4b* Storybrooke's short-lived peace is about to be shaken up by the arrival of visitors from the future. The Nevengers must help their children save the future, all while avoiding disaster in the present. (Mostly Captain Swan with dashes of Snowing and Outlaw Queen.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Boy in the Woods

Emma knew she was dreaming.

If it wasn’t obvious by the fact that she was holding a bowl of perfectly formed ice cream in the middle of the forest, the boy jumping out of a tree and gliding to the ground definitely cleared things up.

He was a cute kid, with dark hair and big green eyes, dimples in his cheeks and a mischievous but endearing grin. 

Nope, she thought, not cute, adorable.

By dream world logic, Emma thought it would be prudent to share her ice cream with the kid. She held it out, expecting him to take it. He wrinkled his nose.

“You know I hate that kind.”

“Huh?”

One eyebrow rose. Wow that seemed familiar. “I hate chocolate ice cream.”

“Who hates chocolate ice cream?”

“I do. You know that.”

“How would I –“

“Mom!”

Emma and the boy turned to see a figure running toward them.

“Henry!”

Emma watched in amazement as the boy ran toward her son, practically tackling him to the ground in his enthusiasm. Henry looked just as surprised as she felt as he returned the boy’s embrace.

“Hey kid, do we know you?”

The boy turned back to her with that same look on his face, like come on. “Duh. I’m –“

“Swan.”

Emma tried to catch the words falling out of the boy’s mouth but something was shaking her. Her hand came up to swat at whatever it was and made contact with cool leather. She blinked open her eyes, meeting the bright sunlight of the afternoon streaming in from the windows. She lifted her head from where it rested on her desk, eyes coming into contact with the source of the shaking.

Hook raised an eyebrow. “Morning. Not enough sleep last night, eh?”

She groaned and let her head fall back on the pile of papers she’d been going through before her impromptu nap. She felt a set of very warm, calloused fingers on her neck, massaging the stiff muscles. A small moan escaped her lips before she could stop it.

“Ah, that’s a nice sound.”

Rolling her eyes, she sat up and started straightening the disarray of her desk as Killian walked over to the chair opposite her, body falling gracefully to the seat. He sat there watching her, blue eyes thoughtful.

“What?”

“Nothing. Did you have pleasant dreams?”

She threw a tissue in the wastebasket. “I guess. I don’t remember much. I think there was ice cream, or something.”

He made a face. “I’ll never understand the appeal of your ‘iced cream.’ It’s like swallowing frozen stones, especially that dreadful chocolate stuff. Much better hot than cold I say.”

There was a flicker of something in the back of her mind. “What?”

“I said I don’t care for your chocolate iced cream, love.”

“You don’t—“ she mouthed the words, grasping at the fleeting memory that was trying to form in the recesses of her brain, the last vestiges of whatever it had been were fading fast. There was the ice cream, but what else? Eyes, green eyes, a charming smile, cute. Cute, no, adorable, that was it.

She chuckled as the memory of the little boy flooded her thoughts.

Killian smiled across from her, leaning over to rest his chin on his hand. “What’s got you tickled, darling?”

She shook her head. “I just remembered that there was a little boy in my dream, a really cute boy, and I offered him some chocolate ice cream and he told me he didn’t want it.”

“Smart lad. Stuff’s the devil in disguise.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’ll never understand how you can enjoy cake so much but not like ice cream. The two go hand in hand you know.”

He grinned and stood up, stretching his muscles so that his shirt rose up a bit. He caught her looking and if possible his grin grew even wider, more smug.

“It’s not such a great mystery, love. Now what say you and I go hand in hand out the door and get ourselves some sustenance, eh?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t until she’d eaten a grilled cheese with a side of onion rings and walked back to the station with Killian that she remembered anything else from the dream and it was only that Henry had been there and the boy was about to tell her something right as she woke.

David was at the station when they arrived, looking tired from being kept up all night by Neal. 

He was on the phone when they walked in. He glanced up and gestured them over. 

“Got it. We’ll head that way.” He hung up the phone. “That was Marco. Apparently there’s been some kind of disturbance near his house. Flashing lights, strange noises.”

“It almost sounds like a portal,” Killian said from where he lounged on Emma’s desk.

Emma couldn’t hold back a groan. “No more portals. Can’t we make it a month without something magical happening in this town?”

David smiled and clapped her on the shoulder. “Welcome to Storybrooke, Sheriff.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Ugh, Neal you’re squashing me!”

“Sorry”

“Leia, please get your foot off my throat.”

Neal looked up to see Leia and Roland untangling themselves. He stood up and offered a hand to his sister. “Looks like we made it.”

Eva rolled her eyes and took his hand. “Nice input, genius.” She swept off the dirt her clothing had accumulated on the trip, looking around. “Where’s Liam?”

“Up here.”

They all looked up to see Liam perched in a tree, grinning down at them.

Eva put her hands on her hips. “Liam, we have to find our parents. We don’t have time to play.”

Liam smirked at her. Even at ten he was alarmingly precocious, a lot like his father. “Last time I checked, Eva, you’re only a year older than me.”

Neal folded his arms. “I’m older than both of you so I say get down Liam.”

He rolled his eyes but jumped down, landing as gracefully as a cat.

“So,” Roland started, looking around at the clearing they had appeared in, “any idea where we are?”

His sister, Kelly, who had been staring off into space, said, “We’re obviously in Storybrooke, probably the outskirts.”

Leia started to cry. “I want mommy and daddy.”

Eva hugged her. “We’ll find them. They can’t be far.”

Liam whistled. “What makes you think they’ll believe who we are? Roland and Neal don’t look the same and the rest of us—“

“Shh! Everybody hide, someone’s coming,” Roland hissed.

Eva pulled Leia behind a tree with Neal while Roland and Kelly found a patch of underbrush. Liam scrambled back up the tree.

Six pairs of eyes watched as three people stepped into the clearing. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Marco told them he had heard a sound like a tornado not far from his workshop and when he came out to see what it could be there had been a huge burst of yellow light coming from the trees near his home.

“Definitely sounds like a portal. Question is: who came through it?”

David cocked his gun. “Guess we’ll find out.” 

They slowly made their way to the place Marco had pointed out, keeping close together, David at the front, Killian at the back.

As they got closer, Emma thought she heard voices, what sounded like children.

They finally made it to a small clearing, one that looked like it had been through a small wind storm, grass and dirt torn up and limbs lying strewn.

Emma lowered her gun. “Looks like a portal. Now where would—“

“Mommy! Daddy!”

A little girl, one that couldn’t be older than five or six, was running full speed at Emma and Killian. She had blonde hair, the color of gold, and from the brief glimpse Emma got of her face before the small body slammed into her, bright blue eyes.

“Uh—“ She looked at Killian who held a similar look of shock.

The little girl raised her head, blue eyes meeting green. “I missed you.”

“Wha—“ 

“Sorry, she’s just scared. Us coming here was kind of a last minute thing.”

Emma, David, and Killian looked up to see a boy, about fourteen or fifteen, standing nearby with a girl who looked to be about eleven. The boy had dark blonde hair while the girl was a brunette. Both shared the same green eyes.

“Who are you?” David asked as another boy, this one slightly older and a girl around thirteen or so with startlingly red hair walked over to stand near the other two.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Another boy jumped out of a tree, landing almost silently. Emma couldn’t hold back her gasp at seeing him. It was the boy from her dream, the same dark hair swept charmingly over his forehead, the same lively green eyes, with the charming dimples and mischievous grin.

He smiled into her eyes and she felt for a moment as if she was looking into a mirror. “We’re your kids.”


	2. Convergence

“Wait-what?”

Emma gaped at the boy who had just told her she was his mother, or had he just said they were their parents? It didn’t matter. Either one was impossible.

Sensing her disbelief, he quirked an eyebrow. “Dad said you wouldn’t believe it at first.”

She was about to ask who his father was but what was the point? He was obviously Killian’s and she chided herself for not realizing it before. The kid was a miniature version of the pirate, all except for the eyes and a few other tiny tale-tell features. 

“I have a son?”

Emma turned to look at Killian, who was staring at Liam like he didn’t know whether to hug him or run. She could sympathize.

“Mommy, you have to help us.”

She looked down to see the little girl was still clinging to her, blue eyes imploring. She marveled at how much she looked like herself…and Killian. That would take some getting used to. Without thinking, she smoothed a hand over the girl’s head.

“What do you need help with exactly?”

The blond boy stepped forward, casting a timid smile at David and Emma noticed yet another resemblance. This boy wasn’t her son, but her brother.

“The future is in danger.”

David, who had been standing next to Emma, taking everything in with an increasingly astonished expression on his face, quickly sobered up.

“I think you’d better tell us your names, and then we’ll figure out how to help you.”

Neal gestured to himself. “I’m Neal.” Emma watched David physically react to the news, walking forward and hugging the boy. When he pulled back his eyes looked misty.

Neal grinned and indicated the girl next to him. “This is Eva, my sister.” 

Eva smiled as David swept her up.

Neal went on to introduce the older boy as Roland-that was a shock-and the girl as his sister Kelly. 

He waved his hand at the girl clinging to her. “That’s Leia and this is-“

“Liam.”

Emma felt Killian tense up at the name. She watched him move forward, kneel down and put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. It was even more apparent, side by side, that they were father and son. They looked into each other’s eyes for a moment before Liam grinned and threw his arms around Killian’s neck.

Emma tried not to feel so choked up but it was probably the weirdest and yet most amazing thing she’d ever experienced, seeing her boyfriend of only a few weeks hugging their son, their son that had just appeared from the future.

She felt a tug on her jacket and looked down to see the girl smiling at her and raising her arms.

Does she want me to pick her up?

Emma bent down and lifted the girl, Leia, she thought Neal had said. Leia put her little arms around Emma’s neck and rested her head against her shoulder.

Killian and Liam had broken apart and were looking at her. She tried not to feel too embarrassed as Killian walked over and placed his hand on Leia’s head. The little girl smiled at him and reached for his hook, earning a shocked look that quickly morphed into a tender expression from Killian.

David cleared his throat. “I think we’d better get to the loft and figure out what the hell is going on.”

Emma thought she’d never agreed with him more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They eventually made it the loft after some debate over who would ride with who, to be received by an extremely perplexed Snow, who, when told of Neal and Eva’s identities had promptly burst into tears and hugged them both so tightly Emma was afraid she would squeeze them to death.

She was currently showing Eva and Leia Neal as a baby while the older Neal stood on the other side of the room and tried not to look at them as Liam teased him mercilessly. 

Roland and Kelly had taken seats at the bar and were drinking some tea Snow had made. That was something Emma had yet to make sense of, among all the other crazy things that had happened. Why was Robin Hood’s son, the Robin Hood who had recently left Storybrooke, with their children? And who did Kelly belong to? She didn’t look like anyone Emma could think of.

“It’s quite a shock, isn’t it, love?” She felt Killian’s hand on her waist and turned to see him standing close to her, gazing at Liam as he tormented Neal. 

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye and placed her hand over his. “That’s an understatement. I can’t believe I ever have kids other than Henry. I still think I’m not cut out to be a mother to him sometimes.”

His lips quirked in a gentle smile. “You are the best mother that boy could have and I’m honored to have children with you.”

“It isn’t weird for you? I mean, we’ve barely been dating. How can you be okay with this, this confirmation that I’m it for you?”

“Because I’ve known you were it for me for quite some time.”

She tried not to let her feelings show: the shock, the acceptance, the love. She knew he’d had feelings for her since Neverland but she’d clearly underestimated him and the strength of his feelings for her. It made her feel guilty, but…a part of her, a part she now realized was growing more every day, was beginning to think that she wanted him to be it for her too, that she wanted to be worthy of his devotion and love.

For a girl who’d had her heart broken more than once, it was both frightening and exhilarating.


	3. Faking It

It was the same dream.

Emma stood in the forest with the same bowl of ice cream, waiting for Liam to appear. But he didn’t.

Instead, the ice cream started to melt, but there was no sun. It began to rain heavily and she ran to the nearest tree, trying in vain to keep herself from getting soaked. She looked around for Henry or Liam but saw no one.

Suddenly there was a burning sensation. It started in her feet and made its way to her heart. She clutched her chest, falling onto her knees. The sky continued to pour water, pounding a merciless avalanche into the slick earth.

Distantly, she thought she heard someone calling for her. She tried to answer, but her lips wouldn’t form the words. All she could feel was the pain in her chest, the ache that wouldn’t subside.

“Emma! Emma!”

She felt a rough pull and all of a sudden she wasn’t in the forest, but the loft. Killian was standing over her, looking concerned, while her parents looked on worriedly. She glanced up and met Liam’s gaze. His eyes held hers for a moment, an unreadable expression crossing his face, before he looked away.

She felt a tug on her hand and looked over to see Leia sitting next to her.

“Are you okay, Mommy? You were touching this.” She put her small hand over Emma’s chest, just above where her heart rested. Her blue eyes, just like Killian’s, were bright with concern.

“I’m fine. It was just a dream.” She smoothed a hand over Leia’s hair, almost the exact same shade as hers, just a bit darker.

“Swan” She looked up at Killian. “Perhaps you and I should take the children out, show them around. I could do with a good walk.” His eyes told a different story. He wanted her to get some fresh air, clear her head. Once again, he was proving to know her too well.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Snow said, “maybe we can stop for ice cream.”

At that, there was a chorus of cheers from the youngest in the room.

“As long as it’s not chocolate,” Liam said.

Killian’s head whipped up for a second, and he stared at his son. After a moment, his face broke into a grin and he pulled Liam under his arm, ruffling his hair, despite the boy’s halfhearted protests.

Emma smiled at them, trying to ignore the feelings of dread that were beginning to stir in her heart.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“What do you think it was?”

Liam glanced at Neal from where he sat on one of the benches at the pond. His parents and sister were by the water, feeding the birds. He had been contemplating them as he licked at his ice cream cone, strawberry, his favorite.

“It was probably what happened to us. Mom doesn’t know she’s a seer yet.”

Neal nodded and took a bite of his cone. “When should we tell them what’s going on?”

Liam finally turned to face him. “Why are you asking me? You’re older and wiser.” He made quotation marks in the air at the last bit.

Neal shoved him, causing Liam to almost fall off the bench, barely keeping the ice cream from falling out of his cone. “Oi!” He stood up triumphantly and, before Neal could blink, Liam snapped his fingers and Neal’s cone was on top of his head, ice cream trickling down his face.

“Liam! No magic!”

Everyone turned to look at them. Emma came over and stared at Liam in amazement. “You have magic?”

Liam ate his ice cream and nodded, hiding his grin behind the cone as Neal glared at him and walked off to join his parents.

“Why didn’t you say anything? How do you even have magic?”

He rolled his eyes. “Because you do. I got it from you.”

She looked thoughtful for a moment. “Does Leia?” She looked to where his sister and father were still standing near the water. While Leia was distracted by the birds, he looked worried, glancing at them every few seconds.

Liam shook his head. “Not so far. If she has magic, it hasn’t manifested.”

“And when did yours ‘manifest?’” she asked, crossing her arms. Was this an interrogation? It was like he’d never left home. The thought brought him up short, as he remembered why they had come to this time, and what they were trying to save, who they were trying to save.

“I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have it. Honestly, in our time I’m considered hot stuff for having so much potential. You trained me mostly, with some input from Regina.”

He watched her eyes widen. “Oh God, I forgot about Regina.”

“You think?” a sarcastic voice interrupted. They both turned to see the aforementioned woman standing nearby, looking around in amazement. “What the hell is going on? I got a call from Snow telling me to come to the park and bring Henry. Care to explain, Miss Swan?”

“Henry’s here?” Liam asked, perking up. He’d missed his brother, even though it hadn’t been that long since he’d last seen him.

Regina turned her gaze to him. “Who are you?”

Liam sketched an elegant bow, the one his father had taught him. You’re on your way to becoming a dashing rapscallion,Liam, he thought. “I’m Liam Jones.”

“Jones? Wait-”

“He’s my son,” Emma interrupted. “Mine and Killian’s.”

Eyes wide, Regina’s mouth formed a perfect O. She quickly regained her composure. “I see.”

“Yeah, I still haven’t figured it out myself. Oh, you might be interested to know that that boy over there,” Emma gestured to where Roland stood with Kelly and Eva, “is Roland. And that girl-the redhead-is his sister.”

A mixed range of emotions crossed Regina’s face in rapid succession: amazement, fear, hope, dread, and finally, determination. They watched her walk over to him and just as Liam expected, Roland immediately hugged her tightly, and though he was nearly a head taller, he buried his face in her shoulder. Kelly joined them, throwing her arms around Regina’s waist. For her part, Regina looked confused, but seemed to pull herself together and hugged them both back.

“Well, that’s interesting,” Emma observed.

Liam had finished his cone, licking his fingers and shrugging. “Eh, I saw it coming. I’m good like that, though.”

Emma smirked. “So it’s like that, then?”

“Oh yes. I know all, I see all, I am Liam, the great and terrible.” He punctuated this by snapping his fingers. An instant later they heard Neal shout. “Liam! What did you do with my pants?”

Emma crossed her arms and gave Liam a stern look. She waved her hand and Neal’s pants reappeared on his legs.

“Aww, why did you do that, Mom?”

He watched her visibly react to his address. He thought he saw a hint of fear cross her face before she masked it, coming closer and ruffling his hair. “You are definitely your father’s son.”

“You tell me that a lot.” He glanced behind her and saw his father walking toward them. Leia had joined Snow and David, the latter picking her up and swinging her around as she shrieked with delight.

His father put his arm around his mother’s shoulders, joining her in scrutinizing Liam. “I take it you’re a bit of a troublemaker, lad?”

Liam grinned.

Killian laughed and squeezed Emma’s shoulder. “He’s definitely mine. Cheeky fellow.”

She rolled her eyes. “I guess I have my hands full in the future.”

“I think it keeps your life interesting.” Liam said, falling onto the bench. He spread himself across it, folding his hands behind his head and gazing up at the sky.

He listened to the murmur of his parents voices and thought about what he would say to them, how he would explain the situation and why they’d felt the need to come back. It was all so complicated. Why couldn’t things be simple? Why couldn’t they go back home and enjoy the way things were?

It was too much. It was all too much. He covered his eyes with the back of his hand, sighing deeply. Is this what it felt like to grow up?

He felt a tap on his forehead and pulled his hand away, looking up into the face of-

“Henry!” He jumped up and grabbed his brother, holding him tightly.

“And you’re Liam, right?” He asked, laughing.

Liam nodded enthusiastically.

Henry smiled as he pulled away. “Wow, you look just like Killian.”

“He acts just like him, too,” Emma added from where she stood nearby with his father. “They’re both a bit full of themselves.”

“Hey!” Liam and Killian both said at the same time, earning looks from everyone who promptly burst into laughter.

“So what are you doing here?” Henry asked.

“That’s the million dollar question, isn’t it?” Liam said, sinking back on the bench.

“Well you must be here for a reason,” Regina said, walking over with Roland and Kelly. The rest of them followed. Everyone seemed to be looking at him, waiting for answers. Why didn’t they look at Roland? He was the oldest. Or Neal? He was the leader. Why were they looking at him? Oh right, because it was his mess. His to fix. If he’d learned anything from his father, (besides sailing and cards) it was to clean up your own messes.

“It’s…complicated,” he began, glancing at Neal and Eva for support.

Neal walked over and put a hand on his shoulder. “The short version is that some very bad stuff happened and our parents-well, you guys-sent us here, thinking we would be safe.”

“And that’s it?” David asked. “We just sent you to the past, all alone? No adults to protect you? What if you had ended up in the wrong place?”

“I find it hard to believe,” Regina said.

Neal looked at his older sister. “Emma knows it’s true.”

She continued to stare at them thoughtfully but nodded.

“The circumstances were very sudden. We didn’t have much of a choice. And Liam has magic. He was the one guiding the portal,” Eva piped in.

Regina seemed to look at Liam in a new light. “That’s impressive for any magic user.”

Liam shrugged, used to it.

“Anyway,” Neal began, “we’re here for sanctuary.”

“Of course,” Snow said.

“And just how long will you be needing ‘sanctuary’?” Regina asked, not unkindly.

Neal shook his head. “We don’t know. We thought we would wait for a message. You and Emma can send something to us from the future to let us know it’s safe. We’re not allowed to return until we get a sign.”

“And just how bad was the situation, Neal?” David crossed his arms, getting into his protective father stance.

“Bad,” Liam said quietly. Killian walked over and knelt beside him.

“Why don’t you tell us the longer version, lad? I think some elements are missing from your story.”

Liam looked at Neal, who nodded encouragingly. “It’s okay, Liam. No one will blame you.”

“Blame you?” Emma finally spoke. “Why would we blame you?”

“Because,” Liam said miserably, lost in flashes of memory that he was desperately trying to forget. The cocky attitude had fled. He didn’t feel like faking it anymore at the moment. “I’m the reason all this started in the first place.”


End file.
